Why can't a copy and paste columns?

[Nicole L.]

I have a worksheet, albeit a very full/big worksheet, with lots of formulas
referencing cells and ranges in an adjacent worksheet. I need to insert a
couple columns but when I do a copy and an Insert Copied Columns, it won't do
it and gives me an error about losing data if I do that... etc. It also says
something about Blank cells... It mentions clearing out/emptying the columns
to the right, but I obviously can't do that and maintain all my formulas, etc.

I've searched the Microsoft help pages to no avail.

Any ideas?
Do I have too many columns, or something?

 

[Tim C]

Excel has 256 columns. If you "insert" columns, an equal number of columns
are deleted from the far right of the spreadsheet. If you have anything (or
once had anything) in the columns to be deleted, Excel makes you clear out
those columns manually, so that no data is accidentally deleted.

Tim C

 

[Nicole L.]

I have plenty of columns left to make 256, so that should be fine. And I've
gone in and cleared/deleted and taken off any formatting the possibly ever
would have been in columns to the right and rows on the bottom. And it's
still doing it.

Any more suggestions?
This is killin' me.

 

[Nicole L.]

Thanks. I wasn't sure what the limit was and that Excel was reading that
there was anything in those columns and rows, which I thought were blank.

I had to select really far over and really far down and remove all
formatting (lines/shading) as well as clear the cells. That worked.

Thanks